PROLOGUE: Of the First Ward

The First Ward. Home to the CCG's headquarters, it is no surprise that the doves there had eliminated nearly every single ghoul that lived there.

The keyword is nearly.

The ghouls that weren't yet killed or driven out were forced to live in hiding, isolating themselves to even others of their species. Most ghouls living in the Ward didn't even know if there were any others still alive in the entire territory. Those dumb (or brave, depending on who you ask) enough to try and find out were cut down before they had even gotten off of their feet. The rest relied on being smart. Being smart meant being alive, which meant being secret. And not being secret meant tragedy.

But this was not the case for Harato Koizumi, a ghoul of the First Ward.

For Harato, life wasn't a tragedy. Unlike most other ghouls, he had a family, both his parents, and lived in one of the richer parts of town, where he could get a good education. He had no worry finding friends growing up, remaining quite popular in school due to his athletic, slim physique and friendly personality.

No, his life was not a tragedy. But, in fact, a love story.

Not a typical love story, but a love story nonetheless. Because his life had been defined by the love he felt for others, and others for him. Many different kinds at many different times, but love all the same.

Many different kinds, but for now, we will focus on…

CHAPTER 1: Between Parent and Child

Being a ghoul in the First Ward was a risk, and all ghouls who chose to stay there knew that. Harato's parents were no different. Living with the doves breathing down their necks at all times, they had to become experts on hiding in plain sight, even if this meant distancing themselves and the reality of being a ghoul from their own son. They had raised him as if he were a human, and luckily, they had avoided nearly all detection from the CCG and suspicion from their child.

They would often go on 'business trips,' as they told Harato. These 'trips' would sometimes last for weeks at a time, making Harato wonder where they went. For the longest time, he didn't know that the 'trips' were the things putting meat on the table.

His parents couldn't hunt in the Ward itself, for fear that the CCG would unrelentingly trace them back to their home. Still needing to eat, however, his parents had to catch their 'prey' in the Wards surrounding their own, bringing back pieces of their kills to the house in bags whenever they could.

"'Dove' is not a good name for investigators," Harato's mother once told him, "They are more like hunting dogs, sniffing out the blood of a ghoul with their pack."

Unknowing of his actual blood, Harato never understood why his parents were so disturbed by the Doves.

Because of the 'trips', Harato grew up mostly in an empty house. While his parents were out, hunting, he was left to fend for himself in childhood. Unable to find comfort in his parents, he had keep himself busy by going to school, drowning himself in books and studies. The isolation, along with his parents' secrecy, frustrated him to no end. He just wanted to know why, why his parents chose to isolate themselves from him, their offspring, their child.

He didn't get the answers he wanted until he was 18 years old.

20XX

Sometime in January, Harato had his 18th birthday, alone. His parents had just come back from another one of their 'trips'. The two had brought enough meat back to last the family a few months, if stored properly. It was March now, and they were on the tail-end of the harvest. Harato, used to his parents disappearing from his life, fully expected them to just leave again without even acknowledging his turning of age. Instead, after one of the final meals of the haul, his father called him over to talk. The man was sitting in a leather recliner, leaning back a little and reading a book intently.

"You are getting to that age when children leave high school, correct, child?"

Harato knitted his eyebrows. He was his son, at least the guy could call him by his name!

"Y-Yes, sir," He said through gritted teeth.

"Hm. You'll be a man soon," His father said.

"The bastard isn't even looking away from his book to talk to me!" Harato thought.

"Yes, sir."

"Hm. Very well. Beginning tomorrow, you will not be welcome in this home until you can put food on the table"

"What?" Harato's mind went blank as his mouth ran dry.

"You have much to learn, in the little time before you have before become a man. Staying here won't help you any. Get out of the house."

And just as if a switch had been flicked on, a stream of frantic thoughts filled Harato's head.

"W-What? No! You can't say that, I don't even know-" He stammered.

"Then you will learn. By morning, I want you out." His father calmly replied.

Harato could only stare at him in incredulity. His father hadn't even looked up from the book he was so intent on reading.

Harato's mother, curious of the commotion, happened upon the scene. Her son, mouth agape, eyes trained on her husband, who was paying no mind.

"What's going on here?" She asked, a bemused expression on her face.

Harato's father flitted his eyes towards her briefly, before he said: "It's that time, Aimi."

"..." Her face quickly fell into solemnity, "Oh. I see."

Harato didn't know who to direct his anger towards then. So instead of choosing between the two, he decided to yell at them both.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh? 'It's that time,' that you're just gonna force me to leave?! Y-You've been planning on just sending me out, just like that?! You want me to go that badly, huh?! Father," He spat the word out with venom, "Do you hate me that much?"

His father just closed the book and set it on his lap, looking down on the cover.

"Have nothing to say, huh?" He asked, voice rising with every syllable, "You couldn't even bother living with me in the first place, is that why you and Mother were never here?"

"Do not mistake what I have done out of love for you-"

"Love?! Please. If you had really loved me, you wouldn't have abandoned me!"

There was a silence. Both of Harato's parents were looking away now, before his mother quietly said, "Please, can't we just-"

"No Aimi, the child is correct. I should have been a better father to him, and he has paid the price for it. But," For the first time, he looked directly into Harato's eyes, "When I die, I will not leave behind a weak son. You are leaving. Tomorrow. That is final."

Harato tried to say more, but found that he couldn't. There was something in his father's eyes ("Guilt? Affection? No, that man has never felt any affection for me in his life," He thought) that had forced his lungs to stop working, if only for a moment. He had no response.

And that's why, three hours later, he was on a train to the 4th Ward, goal in mind.

"We should have waited longer, told him about being a ghoul. He's going to die thinking that he's human," Harato's mother whispered as he left.

"There was no time," Her husband gravely replied.

She gave him a glance, confused.

"There's the stench of blood in the air already, I can smell it," He turned to her, "And that means the doves can too."

In an office of the CCG's headquarters, Itsumi Tamura, Rank 2 Investigator, sat in a chair, reviewing CCTV footage from around the Ward. She had just graduated the Academy, and hadn't yet been deployed. Despite the stresses and the training that the Academy had provided, her flaxen blonde hair and fair face had retained the fullness of her youth. Those unobservant wouldn't suspect her of being anything besides a college-age woman. That is, if they didn't notice her eyes first.

Blue, dark, and piercing, they seem to hold a vast wealth of knowledge beneath their wells of color. By just one look into those eyes, someone would be able to tell that she was a hardened person, someone who had worked exceptionally hard to get to where she was, and would remain working to make sure that she improved.

A knock broke her concentration on the screen. Not looking away, she asked, "Who is it?"

A manly voice spoke from behind the door, "Hiro."

"... Come in."

She heard the sound of the door quietly opening and closing before a cup of coffee was set beside her.

"Man, you're really taking over my office, huh?" The man said.

"You're not using it as it is, sir. And I have no other place to do the work you assigned me."

"Did I? I don't really remember giving you a desk job, hehe…"

She gave a small sigh. It was almost as if she could hear him rubbing the back of his neck just by the tone of his voice.

Itsumi had gotten used to his antics by then. He was Hiro Suzuki, First Class Investigator, and the Senior Investigator that she was assigned to. Being 32, he was quite a few years her senior, yet didn't act like it. Much like his personality, his appearance hadn't seemed to age either. Long, unkempt black hair framed his pointed face, and his body was quite thinner than the other Investigators of his rank. All of this gave him the appearance of the 'nerd' stereotype. Didn't help that he was nearsighted, and being the person he is, forgets to put on his contacts most days, making him wear glasses at nearly all times.

But regardless of his demeanor, he had risen the CCG ranks, relatively quickly at that. He was the head of multiple investigations before, and had taken down just as many ghouls with his mastery of his quinque. The control and force he was able to tap into with a blade in hand was extraordinary, and had lead to him reaching the rank of First Class quite a bit ahead of the curve.

Itsumi slowly spun around her (Well, technically Hiro's) chair to face him.

"Do you need something, Suzuki-san?" She asked.

"You don't have to be so formal with me, Itsumi-san. You can call me by my first name, you know."

She just gave him a deadpan stare. He sighed, before saying,

"I need your help."

She to raised her eyebrow.

"With what?"

He plopped down a folder on the desk, right next to the coffee.

"This."

She took a quick glance, before looking back at him.

"What is it?" She asked.

"A profile on a suspected group of ghouls. I need you to find out their whereabouts. Addresses, phone numbers if they have 'em, the whole shebang," He answered.

"Couldn't you do this on your own?"

"I would, but you're the one with my computer at the moment," He shot back, before beginning to walk out of the office. "Oh, and the coffee's yours. You'll need it," He called out as he left.

Sighing, Itsumi went back to work on the desktop. She opened the file and read through it.

"A 'Koizumi family', huh…" She murmured.

Quickly getting back to work, she looked upon the screen, goal in mind.

A few days later, Itsumi was driving with Hiro. She had found the address for the Koizumi household, yet they wouldn't answer phone calls. This lead to the main office sending Investigators for a 'house call'. Clouds had begun to blow in, and the world was getting a grey tint. Hiro was currently the one in the driver's seat, while Itsumi absentmindedly looked out the window. Hiro's voice broke her attention.

"It's gonna rain today, huh?"

She looked at him, "How would you know, Suzuki-san?"

With one hand, he tapped his nose, "I can smell it. They don't teach you this in the Academy, but your sense of smell is just as important as sight. You can use it to rat out cheaters, liars, and most importantly," His glasses flashed, "Ghouls."

Itsumi tightened her hold on her quinque.

"I see."

"Are you excited?" Hiro asked.

"For what?" She shot back.

"This is your first real Investigation, and hey! You did most of the work!"

"Are you sure that's not just what you're excited about?" She deadpanned.

He chuckled, before saying, "You got me there. To be honest, I should've done more of the paperwork..."

"It's fine, but..."

"But what?"

"What if they're expecting us?"

"Expecting us?"

"They did send their only child into the 4th Ward.

"Oh, him? Don't worry, I got the office to send an Investigator to follow him, make sure he doesn't get in the way."

"I'm not worried about the adolescent ghoul. What I am worried about, are the implications, sir. If they sent him away, that must mean that they knew they were under watch. They might be prepared. Prepared to fight."

Hiro chuckled a little bit more.

"Man, they really must be teaching new recruits all sorts of things to make them more paranoid. There's no need to worry, Itsumi-san," He used his rear view mirror to look at the three other Bureau vehicles tailing them, all full with at least four Investigators each, "This, this will be much more than enough."

"Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!" Thought Harato as he walked through the many small side streets and alleyways that made up the 4th Ward. It had been a few days since he was 'kicked out' of his house (That would be the word he would come to describe it as), and was having no luck with his father's challenge.

"Come back once I can put food on the table? Hell, I can't get a job, I haven't finished high school!" He thought, "Doesn't help that the only thing I can stomach is whatever that meat is we eat. What is that anyway? Some sort of exotic animal? Is that why they had to leave all the time to buy it, because it's rare?"

He felt his stomach rumble.

"Oh, great. Yeah, that's wonderful."

He had been wandering absentmindedly for the past few hours, getting lost both in the backstreets, and in his own thoughts. Unfortunately, this had gotten him terribly lost. Looking around, he realized his predicament.

"Even better. Great, yeah, just great. Breath, and just pick a direction."

Picking one, he crossed the street. As he did so, he found himself in a barren alleyway, populated only by a few pieces of trash and a sleeping, frail, homeless woman. When he passed her, he caught scent of something.

"Something good..."

He stopped and scanned around him, trying to spot the smell's source.

"Something really, really good. Yet almost... nostalgic?"

Continuing his watch, he came to a realization. The smell wasn't of something. No, it was of someone. More specifically, of the sleeping woman.

"W-what is this?" He thought as he exacted all of his attention onto her sleeping form.

"I-I just want to... just want to try a little bit, see what it tastes like. It wouldn't be too bad, right? It smells so good, too good, just a little piece wouldn't hurt. Just a l-little..." He began to step towards her before shaking himself out of the trance-like state. He couldn't believe he was just considering that. He wasn't that hungry to think of it, let alone want it, right?

It didn't matter, as he quickly moved on to get away from the temptation. The stress of actually fending for himself, that must've been the cause for those kinds of thoughts. At least, that's how he rationalized it. Before he knew it, he was in another alleyway, this time actually abandoned, and the sun was setting. As gold mixed with red, he sat against a wall.

"Looks like another night outside..." He noted.

As he ssat, the sound of steps drew closer, looking up, he saw the source.

A bald man, dressed in a fancy tailored suit and briefcase, stood in the entrance to the alleyway. Even though it was twilight, he was wearing sunglasses.

"A Mr. Koizumi, isn't it? If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Howdy fellas, Gressmann here. Thanks for reading the first part to my first fic.

If you liked it, thanks, there's more on the way. if you didn't, I'm open to all critique.

Once more, I appreciate you all that read through the entire thing.

Gressmann out.